


Untroubled Water

by Omorka



Category: Last Starfighter (1984)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-02
Updated: 2010-05-02
Packaged: 2017-10-09 06:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/84172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omorka/pseuds/Omorka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grig instructs Alex on the old Starfighters' most treasured traditions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untroubled Water

**Author's Note:**

> I've been threatening to write in this fandom for years. Originally written for the prompt "a bridge" at Story_Lottery over on LJ. Mild spoilers for the film, if you haven't seen it.

"You've got to be kidding me," Alex said in shock. His voice echoed off of sheer crystal walls on either side of him.

Grig made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. "I just thought you might want to participate in one of the grand initiatory traditions of the Starfighters."

The cavern they were in was faceted from the apex of its ceiling, easily a hundred yards above them, to the stone beneath their feet. An underground river, clear and cold, rushed through a channel a third of the way across the cave; the pure white sand at its bottom was the only natural feature that wasn't clear as glass. A natural arch curved steeply over the river to a raised platform on the other side - the platform, Alex was sure, had been carved. A pillar on the platform had been chipped, notched, and broken dozens (maybe thousands) of times; a chisel and what was clearly some alien culture's equivalent of the sledgehammer - its proportions were all wrong for a human's swing and the handle oddly curved, but the head was almost identical - lay at the pillar's base.

"It's simple," Grig said. "Every Starfighter, after his maiden flight, came here and crossed the Bridge of Destiny on foot, to make his own mark on the Pillar of Heroes. And now it's your turn, Alex Rogan."

"It sounds like a fraternity hazing," Alex complained. "And there aren't any other Starfighters for me to impress, or to cheer me on."

"The Navigators came, too," Grig noted. "I've cheered three other newly-minted Starfighters across."

Alex sighed. Clearly his reptilian friend was not going to let up. "All right. I'll try." He eyed the river below. "What happens if I fall off?"

"Then the other Starfighters fish you out of the river before it drags you into the bowels of the cave. And they laugh at you," Grig said, his eyes clearly reviewing fondly some other novice's embarrassment.

"You think you can do that by yourself?" Alex asked, testing the arch with one foot. It was slippery from the river's spray, of course. He was glad he was wearing his tennis shoes, and not the pilot's boots that went with the rest of the uniform.

Grig looked like he hadn't even considered the possibility. "I'll do my best," he said, the faintest hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice.

"Great," Alex groaned, and backed up to get a running start.

The first twenty yards were fine; the curve of the arch slipped a bit under his feet, but his momentum carried him through. Then he started to lose speed. By the time he was forty yards out, and easily thirty feet above the river, he was gripping with his hands as well as his feet.

Grig was waving his arms vigorously in a complex pattern. "You can do it, Alex! You're almost halfway!"

"I can see that," Alex grumbled, inching forward. Here, the problem was holding onto the curved arch of the bridge without slipping to either side; in a minute, gravity was going to start tugging him down towards the platform, and he was going to have to figure out how to not crash into it.

Halfway there, he gave up, wrapped his arms and legs around the bridge, and just let himself slide. His uniform was soaked through, but he crawled onto the platform in one piece. "I can't believe I let you talk me into that," he muttered as he picked up the hammer.

"That's the spirit!" Grig cheered, bouncing on his heels.

Alex didn't bother with the chisel; he simply hauled back and swung. The pillar rang like a bell and didn't budge.

"Again!" Grig mimed an overhead swing.

Instead, Alex swung low, towards what looked like a flaw in the crystal. It rang again, a pure, clear note.

"Once more, keep at it!" Somehow, Alex got the feeling that Grig had always wanted to do this himself. Vicarious fantasies had never gotten him anywhere. He spun around twice and landed the blow right on that tiny crack.

The crystal's note was flat; it _pinged_, then cracked, then popped. The top two-thirds of the pillar broke away cleanly and toppled to the platform. Alex leaned down, picked up a couple of chips, stuck them in his pocket, and began crawling back across the bridge.

Grig was still dumbstruck when he got there. "I didn't realize humans were that strong," he mumbled through stiff lips.

"We're not. I got lucky." Alex removed one chip from his pocket and handed it to Grig. "Okay, my first act as the founder of the new Starfighter corps is to outlaw hazing. Anyone who wants to cross the bridge to the Pillar of Fallen Heroes can do so whenever they want, to pay respect to the pilots Xur massacred. And new Starfighters don't have to do it if they don't want to." He licked his lips; he hadn't realized they were dry. "I've had too many people try to bully me to be okay with that."

Grig turned the six-sided bit of crystal over in his scaled hands. "That'll take some getting used to," he protested, then nodded. "But I agree that there needs to be some such monument. This will do."

"Good." Alex rubbed at the small of his back. "Let's see if Centauri is on his way back from his recruiting trip yet. And on our way, let's find me a dry uniform."


End file.
